James Anthony Gonzales v. The People Of The State Of California

I. Background

Petitioner is in custody after his November 22, 2019 no contest plea to two counts of a lewd act upon a child under the age of fourteen (Cal. Penal Code § 288(a)) and one count of possession of child pornography (Cal. Penal Code § 311.11(a)) in the Los Angeles Superior Court. (Petition at 2, 56.) Petitioner was sentenced on January 7, 2020, to a term of imprisonment of ten years and eight months. (Id. at 2.) Petitioner filed no direct appeal. (See People v. Gonzales, No. YA099634, case docket available at https://www.lacourt.org/criminalcasesummary/ui/ (“Trial Court Docket”) (last visited Aug. 23, 2022).)

On or around July 26, 2021, Petitioner filed a petition for habeas relief in state court. (Petition at 49; see also Trial Court Docket.) On September 7, 2021, Petitioner filed a second

For ease of reference, the Court cites to the page numbers assigned by the Court’s electronic case filing system.

Federal courts may take judicial notice of relevant state court records in federal habeas proceedings. See Smith v. Duncan, 297 F.3d 809, 815 (9th Cir. 2001), overruled on other grounds by Pace v. DiGuglielmo, 544 U.S. 408, 418 (2005); Williams v.…